Huawei Unveils Kirin 970 Mobile AI Computing Platform at IFA 2017

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A 10-week equity-free accelerator for African startups designed to tutor participants on how to use artificial intelligence to solve local challenges has been introduced by Google. The initiative is called Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First. It recognises the transformative role AI is playing across the world, innovating industries and reimagining the realms of possibilities. It also highlights the significant contributions of African startups in addressing some of the region’s most pressing challenges through the use of AI. A statement from Google disclosed that application for the programme has commenced. It is for startups up to series

By Aduragbemi Omiyale If urgent steps are not taken, Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, believed to be worth about $75.6 billion, could be at risk because of the widening skills gap. This was the submission of a renowned telecoms policy enthusiast, Mr Omobayo Azeez, at the just-concluded second edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE 2023) organised in Lagos by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). In his keynote address on Bridging Skills Gap to Accelerate the Indigenous Telecoms Development, Mr Azeez argued that the rising skills gap in the country was becoming a challenge to the sector. He posited that

New search trends released by Google show that search interest in AI has reached an all-time high in Nigeria. The trends show that people have searched for AI more than ever in 2023 so far, with interest rising 310% since last year, and by 1,660% in the last five years. Google’s research also revealed the top trending questions being asked about AI across Nigeria. Here, Google West Africa Director, Olumide Balogun, answers some of the most frequently asked questions. What is Artificial Intelligence and how does it work? AI is a type of technology that can learn from its environment,

By Dipo Olowookere As a way of encouraging youth entrepreneurship, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has launched an intrest-free loan scheme for members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) under its Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) programme. A statement from the bank noted it observed that entrepreneurship remains a critical pathway to resolving the worrisome unemployment problem in the country and decided to revise its interest on the loan scheme from 9 percent to zero. According to the BoI, over N262.9 million has been released to about 177 corps members across the country under the GEF scheme put together in

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh This insightful interview offers an understanding of the current relations between South Africa and Russia and BRICS. It focuses on bilateral economic cooperation between South Africa and Russia and some aspects of the BRICS. With an estimated 58 million population, South Africa is the 25th largest country in the world. It has friendly relations dating from the Soviet times and now with the Russian Federation. It joined BRICS, an organisation of five emerging economies, in December 2010 in line with the country’s foreign policy to strengthen South-South relations. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of

By Adedapo Adesanya Online job platform, Jobberman, has launched an employer-focused initiative – Jobberman Starter Promo – aimed at contributing to employment growth and providing an enabling environment for employers looking to give young talents a head start. The initiative launched this month is an offshoot of its ongoing partnership with Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works and will allow companies to utilize Jobberman’s job listing product for free, over the next three months for jobs that require between 0-3 years of experience. The platform noted that over the years, it has continued to bridge the gap between improving candidate uptake

By Ezedi Udom Containment remains the most viable response strategy to the escalating Coronavirus pandemic until there’s a cure. However, the increasingly negative health, social, economic, financial and humanitarian impacts of COVID-19 are already seen as clear pointers to a probable global recession, if not halted. Many countries including Nigeria are already in a recession panic mode. But, surprisingly, respected global institutions like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have assigned the critical role of steering consumers and businesses especially micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs) out of likely downtime to e-commerce and logistics operators like Jumia. The WTO in a

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Total transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in February 2017 depreciated by 22.25 percent from N95.32 billion recorded in January 2017 to N74.11 billion, latest data released by the local bourse revealed. In the Foreign Portfolio Investment Report for February 2017, it was disclosed that domestic investors outperformed foreign investors by 6.78 percent. The domestic transactions decreased by 22.88 percent from N51.31 billion recorded in January 2017 to N39.57 billion in February 2017, while foreign transactions also decreased by 21.52 percent from N44.01 billion to N34.54 billion within the same period. Similarly, the

By Dipo Olowookere Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited remained bearish on Wednesday with a marginal 0.01 per cent decline. The decline occurred as the bears are making an attempt to tighten their grip on the exchange, which is tucked on Customs Street, Marina, Lagos. Unlike the previous session, in which the market breadth was positive, it was negative yesterday as a result of the 23 price losers and 19 price gainers recorded at the close of business. This was due to profit-taking across most of the sectors, with the insurance space going down by 1.60

By Adedapo Adesanya NASD Plc, which operates the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) market, has called on registered data compliance protection officers to submit proposals. The move is to undertake an evaluation of its data compliance as established by the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NITDA Regulation) 2019. The company in a statement noted this is also in line with requirements to ensure global best practices. NASD noted that the scope of service required includes: assessment of NASD’s level of compliance with NITDA Regulation and best practice; review of its data processing activities to determine the applicability of NITDA Regulation; implementation of NITDA

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian billionaire and business mogul, Mr Aliko Dangote, has backed former Finance Minister, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to become the next Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Mr Dangote in a series of tweet showed his support for Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, 66, who is one of the eight candidates vying for the position which has just been vacated by Mr Roberto Azevedo of Brazil. He wrote, “In these challenging times, the World Trade Organisation needs the renowned skills and tested experience of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to lead the organisation through identified obstacles and strengthen its position as the